


The Fourth

by booyahfordham



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Afghanistan flashbacks, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Flashbacks, M/M, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Tony Has Issues, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-08-10
Packaged: 2018-08-07 20:40:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7728952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/booyahfordham/pseuds/booyahfordham
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony had never been a big fan of the Fourth of July – not that he wasn’t patriotic; he loved the star-spangled blah blah or whatever. He loved America and all, he just didn’t like all the gigantic and colorful explosions in the sky, and if that meant he didn’t go to Fourth of July parties or that he ducked out early to avoid said explosions, it didn’t bother him too much.</p>
<p>TW: PTSD maybe??? Better safe than sorry.</p>
<p>Stony.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Fourth

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Look who's back... I promise tomorrow I will upload the last chapter to my multi-chapter. I'm so sorry for the long wait for everyone who's been waiting (or at this point, given up waiting, let's be real). In the meantime, enjoy this Stony one-shot. It's pretty bad, but I guess I'll let you be the judge...

Tony had never been a big fan of the Fourth of July – not that he wasn’t patriotic; he loved the star-spangled blah blah or whatever. He loved America and all, he just didn’t like all the gigantic and colorful explosions in the sky, and if that meant he didn’t go to Fourth of July parties or that he ducked out early to avoid said explosions, it didn’t bother him too much.

Tony had been there when Clint found out about Steve’s birthday. It wasn’t exactly a day he could easily forget. Clint had threatened to torture Steve if he didn’t tell him when his real birthday was, and when he realized Steve wasn’t messing with him, that Captain America was actually born on the Fourth of July, the plan was already set in stone. Tony never really had a chance.

 

“Stark, it’s settled. We’re having a combined birthday and Fourth of July party: fireworks, food, music, people, everything. We’re gonna do this thing right,” he’d told him.

“Yeah, no,” Tony had replied. “I would let you have literally any other type of party.”

Of course, he hadn’t been talking about the good Captain’s birthday, but Clint – with the help of a certain Norse god – had managed to guilt him into letting the Avengers throw a party on the roof of his tower. He’d managed to compromise with size of the party. From how he was describing it, Clint sounded like he wanted the entire city of New York, but in the end, Tony kept it to about 40 people.

_When,_ exactly, Tony Stark had become the one to limit the size of a party, he wasn’t really sure. All he knew was that the more he was involved in this party, the more likely it was to be a disaster for him.

So here he was, on the roof of his tower, mingling. It was just getting dark enough for people to start taking out the firecrackers, and that’s when he started to get nervous. He knew how close he was to freaking out, he _knew_ , but he couldn’t seem to tear himself away from the party. Every time he tried, someone would come up to him with an interesting story or an idea or a “Where’s the birthday boy?” and before he knew it, he was being dragged onto the patio couch by Steve Rogers because “Tony, come sit down! The fireworks are about to start! I haven’t seen them since the ‘40s!” like he hadn’t been telling everyone that for weeks.

Tony stiffened with the sound of the first firework. Okay, so maybe he jumped little, but honestly, it wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. Maybe he could get through thi-

_“Don’t change any settings, just click it,”_

_The explosion ahead cut off the voice of the young man to his left._

_Screaming._

_“What’s going on? What do we got?”_

_People are dying around him. The young man sitting next to him, the one who’s supposed to stay with him gets out of the Humvee. “Stay here!”_

_Another explosion. More gunfire. More explosions._

_He runs._

_Explosion._

_He ducks behind a rock._

_Gunfire._

_The phone is in his hands. He’s calling for help. He’s calling Rhodey._

_The missile. His missile. His explosion. His doing. This is his doing._

_The world goes black._

_Except,_

Except the world isn’t black. The world is bright. There are no explosions, no gunfire. Only a calm voice, someone rocking him, arms wrapped around his chest.

“You’re safe, Tony. You’ll be okay. You’re home now. You’re gonna be fine.”

His throat is raw like he’s been screaming. His eyes itch like he’s been crying. His chest hurts like he hasn’t been breathing. He knows what’s just happened. He _knows_ what’s just happened just like he _knew_ it was going to happen.

He takes a deep breath and lifts his head.

"Steve?” His voice scratches at his throat. He freezes. He shoves Steve’s strong arms away and tries to scramble away, only to hit a wall. He whimpers.

“Tony, it’s okay. You’re okay.” Steve’s hands are up like he’s surrendering.

“I _know_ ,” he snaps, even though he knows he shouldn't. He pauses and looks down. “I’m sorry. Thank you,”

Steve just nods, but he’s looking at Tony with those eyes that make Tony feel like Steve thinks he’s a puppy, a kitten, and an infant at the same time.

“Did they – I mean – Did I, you know, in front of –”

“No,” Steve almost whispers it. “You were shaking and wouldn’t answer me so I pulled you away and carried you inside, and the fireworks kept going off, and you kept shouting, so I brought you down here since it’s soundproof. I think it helped,”

Tony looks Steve in the eye. “Yeah, it helped, Steve. Thank you,”

They sit in silence until Steve clears his throat. “Did you know that the fireworks would –”

“Yeah,” Tony cuts him off.

“Tony, I’m so sorry. I had no idea. I never would’ve –”

“Please, stop. I don’t need your pity. You had no idea because I didn’t want you to. If I wanted you to know I would’ve told you.”

Steve gives Tony the most intense stare he thinks he’s ever seen.

“What?” Tony asks.

“Can I kiss you?”

“What?”

“Can I –”

Tony leans forward and lets Steve wrap his arms around him as they kiss sitting on the carpet.

“I’m sorry,” Tony whispers when Steve breaks the kiss.

Steve shakes his head. “It’s not your fault, Tony. You did nothing wrong.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! If you read this note, comment telling me your Zodiac sign... Mine's Leo :3  
> I'll know who my real friends are [(especially if you follow me on tumblr!)](http://burritofinn.tumblr.com)


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